ThoughtsgivenbySherlockHolmesandtheDuke’sSon

　　WritteninthefirstchapterofthebookPrideandPrejudiceisanextraordinarysentenceofwhichevenapersonwhohashadonlyabrieflookuponthebookwillnotfailtoreceiveadeepimpression-Itisatruthuniversallyacknowledgedthatasinglemaninpossessionofagoodfortunemustbeinwantofawife.IntermsofSherlockHolmes,we’dbetteralterthesentenceinto“ItisafactuniversallyacceptedbyreadersthroughouttheworldthatanexcellentbookinpossessionofourfamousdetectiveSherlockHolmesisundoubtedlyamasterpieceofalltimes.”Perhapsthisisoneofthemostobviousexplanationsfortheunrivaledpopularityof“Holmesseries”inthefieldofdetectivestories.Overwhelmedbytherecommendationsprovidedbymyfriends,IdecidedtotakealookonthisSherlockHolmesandtheDuke’sSonoriginallypublishedbyOxfordUniversityPress.

　　Asawhole,thisbookisaboutacaseconcerningtheDuke’smissingson.Arthur,theDuke’sson,wasfoundoutinacertainmorningtohavedisappeared,accompaniedwithwhichwasalsothedisappearanceoftheGermanteacher.TheschoolmasterDr.HuxtablethenturnedtothefamousdetectiveofthetimeSherlockHolmesforhelp.Realizinghowtoughandimportantthecaseis,HolmesimmediatelymadeuphismindtoacceptthecaseandfollowedDr.HuxtablebacktoMackletonbytrain.Havingformedaroughideaaboutthewholematter,Holmesprobedintothecaseimmediatelyandhadacarefulinvestigationoftheentireareashortlyafterthearrival,duringtheprocessofwhichhediscoveredthebodyoftheGermanteacherHeidegger.Finally,primarilyduetohisprominentabilityasadetective,hemanagedtounravelthemysteryandobtainedthetwelvethousandpoundspromisedbytheDuke.

　　Havingoncestartedreadingthisfiction,Iwascompletelyimmersedinthemysteriousstorypresentedbythebook.Asthesayinggoes,“Wellbegun,halfdone”.Atthebeginningofthestory,justlikemanyotherdetectivestories,theauthorgivesusabriefdescriptionoftheconditionbythewordsofaclient.However,unlikeotherones,thisstoryfirstdelineatestheclient’sstrangebehavioratlengthtoindicatetheseverityoftheincidentinordertoattractthereaderstocontinuereadingit.Asisknowntoall,vividdepictionisessentialtodetectivestoriessinceitcanhelpthereadersunderstandeachfigure’scharacteristicsandvisualizethescenes,thusmakingthestorymoreauthenticandattractive.Therefore,tryingtopresenta“realworld”tohisreadership,SirArthurConanDoyle,authoroftheoriginal“Holmesseries”,hasskillfullyarrangedtheplotsofthewholestoryfromtheperspectiveofDr.Watson,acharacternotsospecializedindiscoveringthetruthhiddenbehindtheenigmatichappeningsasHolmesbutsoloyaltoSherlockHomesasafriendthathealwaysaccompaniesHolmeswhereverhegoes.Inthisway,heelaboratelydepictedeverysceneandcharacterinthebook,Apartfromthespecialstart,theendingofthewholestory,beingdramaticbutreasonable,iscertainlyanoutstandingone.Afterall,excepttheauthorhimself,whoknowsthattheDuke’sseeminglyordinarysecretaryisinfacttheDuke’sbastard?Inaddition,whoknowsthattheDukeactuallyhasalreadybeenacquaintedwiththewholethingbeforeHolmessolvesthiscomplicatedproblem?Yet,surprisingasitis,thisendingseemssonaturalthatitfitsalltheplotsofthestoryperfectlywell.While